Russell Brewing has the therapy for what ails you: a 100-IBU IPA monster packed with aromatic hops added at six different stages of the boil, and a double bout of dry-hopping just for good measure.

Hop. Monster. But the most incredible thing about this beer is that it doesn’t taste like it.

Released at the tail end of last year, Hop Therapy has been in such demand that a couple of extra batches have been required. It means what you’re buying in stores should still be pretty damn fresh.

Hop Therapy is pale amber in colour with relatively low carbonation. A bright, white, moderately packed head, leaves a steady cap and forms Rohrshach-like images as it peels back down the glass following every sip.

I don’t normally like big beers straight from the fridge, but this got chosen on short notice – and I’m glad I did. The cold intensified the citrus aspects of the beer’s aroma, creating a tropical fruit salad of grapefruit, melon, mango, papaya and lime with a subtle herbal undertow. Just beautiful. As the beer warms, the denser, meatier, funkier, herbal aspects of all those aromatic hops come into play.

Flavourwise, melon and papaya highlights feature above a thick, funky herbal centre and a deep but understated caramel malt undertow. It melds together beautifully: This is a superbly balanced beer. The mouthfeel is sublime, a beautifully poised softness and juiciness aided by the light carbonation. I can’t help thinking this beer would be sensational on cask. Toward the end of every sip there’s a slightly harsher, brackeny slow-burn that builds into a warmth in the throat.

9% ABV and 100 IBUs? If you didn’t know you couldn’t tell until you were three-quarters of the way through the bottle and wondered why you were starting to see through time.

Hop Therapy may not be as graceful as Central City’s Imperial IPA but on this showing it has more of that X-factor drinkability. I feel another side-by-side taste test challenge coming on…

Big beer, big food. Hop Therapy could stand up to pretty much any curry you throw at it. It’ll act almost like a chutney, brightening the mouth with its fruit flavours, marrying into the food’s richness with its deep malt and herbal aspects, and cleansing the palate and matching most levels of spice with its massive bitterness. Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Szechuan foods also carry bold flavours that Hop Therapy would match and develop.

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